The service will be hosted on Google Cloud, said Nokia, which developed the technique at its Nokia Bell Labs research operation.
Vodafone CTO Johan Wibergh said: “We are building an automated and programmable network that can respond quickly to our customers’ needs. As we extend 5G across Europe, it is important to match the speed and responsiveness of this new technology with a great service.”
Nokia and Vodafone said the anomaly detection service was tried out in Italy on more than 60,000 4G cells but is being rolled out across Vodafone’s pan-European network.
“The product quickly detects and troubleshoots irregularities, such as mobile site congestion and interference, and unexpected latency, that can impact customer service quality,” said the company. Wibergh added: “With machine learning, we can ensure a consistently high-quality performance that is as smart as the technology behind it.”
Nokia’s president of cloud and network services, Raghav Sahgal, said the service “addresses the critical need to quickly detect and remedy anomalies impacting network performance using machine learning-based algorithms”.
There are plans to eventually apply anomaly detection service to Vodafone’s 5G and core networks, said the telco.
The Nokia-Vodafone deal complements Vodafone’s six-year agreement with Google Cloud, also a Nokia partner, to jointly build integrated cloud-based capabilities backed by hubs of networking and software engineering expertise, said the companies.
Google Cloud’s Amol Phadke, managing director for telecom industry solutions, said: “As behaviours change and the data needed for analysis increases in velocity, volume, and complexity, automation and a cloud-based data platform are now key in making fast and informed decisions.”
